European Left Party announces Alexis Tsipras as candidate for EC presidency

The European Left Party has announced their nomination for the next President of the European Commission.

Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the left-wing Greek party SYRIZA, was announced as the candidate during its fourth Congress in Madrid on Saturday.

Although SYRIZA is ahead in the polls in Greece, this is not the case for the other parties in the European Left.

The European Left holds just 35 seats, or 4.5 percent of the vote in the European Parliament.

Tsipras spoke of the need for change in Europe during his address to the Congress.

“There are two ways to go. Either we consent to the neo-liberal status quo and pretend that the crisis can be resolved with the policies that have recycled it, or we march to the future with the only alternative, the only hope of Europe, the European Left,” he said.

After years of budget cuts, the economy still dominates the debate.

“We’re sending out a very strong message by nominating Alexis Tsipras for the presidency,” announced Pierre Laurent, leader of the European Left Party. “Anti-austerity” is what we are going to stand for in the elections.”

Euronews correspondent Efi Koutsokosta summed up what the nomination means for the European Left Party.

“With Alexis Tsipras as the candidate from the strongest party in the European Left, the group is seeking a big change in May’s European elections. After Madrid, the organisation’s next stop will be Brussels in the spring, for a big international conference on debt. This will be at the heart of their alternative campaign against austerity.”